At The Eyelash Emporium, we have worked hard over the duration of the lockdown to put safety measures in place, both in our offices and warehouse, enabling our staff to safely continue to support our valued customers.  We are here to help you plan for the safe reopening of your business so that you can return to work with confidence, which is why we are constantly reviewing the latest government advice and listening to our customers concerns so that we are providing up to date, reliable information and support.

Due to the nature of services provided within salons and the inability to maintain social distancing, there is a substantial risk carried to both clients and therapists when carrying out treatments in this viral environment. However, licensed professionals are already trained to mitigate these risks significantly through enforcing the existing health and public safety regulations and infection control measures.

The following recommendations, therefore, are enhancements to those existing rules to address the unique scenario presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of taking all necessary and feasible precautions to mitigate the risk while still carrying out key services and treatments.

Recommendations:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

Masks

Employers should provide mouth & nose covers for themselves and their employees, to be worn at all times when providing a service. These masks can be disposable or cloth and must be disposed of or washed properly. Face shields can provide additional protection but should not be a substitute for mouth and nose covers. Disposable masks should be made available to the customer and may only be used by that person, even in the presence of a protection screen/visor. 

Visors

Visors should be worn as an additional barrier against infection where close facial contact is necessary or dust particles are produced such as eye and nail treatments. Wearing visors also helps to minimise natural touching of the eyes & face, which is heavily advised against by the NHS. Visors should be thoroughly wiped clean with disinfectant regularly, particularly after they have been touched or removed.

Gloves

Gloves are recommended, particularly in nail and facial services. Gloves should be worn for only a single service and hands wash thoroughly after they are removed.

Gowns / Aprons

It cannot currently be ruled out that corona viruses will be passed on through clothing. Disposable aprons made of fabric or plastic should be available for all therapists, particularly during treatments where the customer's body has possible contact points with the therapist, such as massage and waxing. A new apron should be worn for each client.

Protective Screens

Protective screens can be used in certain treatments such a nail and hand treatments, which adds an additional barrier between therapist and client in the event of coughing and sneezing. Screens should be wiped clean with a disinfectant between each client.

Hygiene Practices:

Hand Hygiene

Proper hand hygiene is known to be an essential action to reduce the spread of the virus and should be done as frequently as possible, but always between each client, after eating, smoking and using the rest room. Hand sanitiser should also be made available for therapists and clients, ideally with a pump application to minimise surface contact. Clients should be asked to sanitise or wash their hands as soon as they enter the salon.

Disinfection

Existing health and safety practices require the cleaning and disinfection of implements prior to use and the disposal of porous implements after a single use. This practice should be vigorously adhered to and the following added:  Frequent disinfection of high touch areas including, but not limited to: door handles on main entrance and restrooms, restrooms, reception desk, point of sale (POS) equipment, Workstations (including foot/nail drying stations), displays. This can be done with either disinfection wipes or spray and disposable cloth.

Customer/Therapist Interactions

The following recommendations reduce the number of customers in the salon at a single time and limit interactions that could be of risk to both customers and therapists. 

Appointments

All services must be scheduled with adequate time in between appointments to properly clean and disinfect working areas, wash or sanitise hands and change PPE. Customers should be asked to wait outside or in their cars until they are called for their appointment. Appointments for multiple therapists should be staggered to avoid more than one customer in the waiting area at any given time.

Payments

Cashless payment systems are preferred, but not required. If Point of Sale (POS) equipment is used and a patron must sign or enter PIN, the equipment must be disinfected after each use.

Workplace & Salon Environment:

Working Hours & Breaks

At the beginning and end of working hours, suitable organisational measures should be taken to avoid that several employees come together closely - for example, when clocking in or out, in changing rooms, washrooms and showers, etc. Breaks should also be taken at separate times and break rooms wiped clean and disinfected after each employee. 

Distancing

It is acknowledged that social distancing recommendations of 2 meters cannot be met in the actual service itself. However, the following distancing measures can be instituted to reduce risk:

In order to be able to maintain a distance of 2m between therapists, workstations must be adjusted to accommodate this government recommendation.  Adequate freedom of movement must be considered. Only the respective customer and the responsible therapist may approach each other for the duration of the treatment.

Signage

Signage should be posted that states services will not be offered to or given by anyone who is sick or exhibiting signs of illness. Customers should be asked prior to a service if they have been sick or exposed to someone who is sick. If so, services should be deferred for 14 days. Health and public safety measures being taken in the salon should also be explained to the customers upon booking to make sure they are happy to adhere to these practices, for their own personal safety as well as their therapist.

Ventilation

Salons, including break rooms and rest rooms, must be adequately ventilated - even in bad weather. This reduces the risk of infection, as it may reduce airborne droplets in the air.

Items that we recommend should be temporarily removed from salons include: public coffee or water stations, magazines/ books / newspapers, sweet dishes, product testers/samples.

Last Updated: 11/05/2020